Wave propagation across sea-ice thickness changes

Williams and Squire (Williams, T.D., Squire, V.A., in press. The effect of submergence on wave scattering across a transition between two floating flexible plates. Wave Motion) present a mathematical theory that properly incorporates freeboard and draft, i.e. submergence, in a description of how ocean surface waves propagate across an abrupt change of properties in a continuous sea-ice cover. Typically the abrupt feature is an ice floe of different thickness from the surrounding plate, a trapped iceberg, a pressure ridge, or an open or refrozen lead. Here, we investigate how the assimilation of this floe submergence into theory alters the transmission of the wave trains, allowing the approximation and consequent limitations inherent in the majority of previous models that apply the under-ice boundary conditions at the mean open water surface to be assessed. This is done for isolated features and, using the wide-spacing approximation, for heterogeneous ice sheets made up of many such irregularities drawn from appropriate probability density distributions. It is found that the contribution associated with the underwater draft of ice floes is modest and can invariably be neglected, aside from at short periods and in heavily deformed sea-ice. While its amassed effect across the many irregular features that habitually characterize sea-ice will be significant, it is offset because of the tendency of ice covers to discourage the passage of short wavelengths preferentially by creating a background wave spectrum composed only of long period wave energy in the ice interior. More general geophysical implications are discussed, particularly in relation to global climate change and the value of ice-covered regions as a proxy for observing a warmer Earth.